PAM. 

CHINA  ^ 


JJohn 


Successes  and  Opportunities 
in  Evangelizing  the  World 


China 


Rev.  JAMES  SIMESTER 

Foochow,  China 


THE  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
RINDGE  LITERATURE  DEPARTMENT 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


SUCCESSES  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  IN 
CHINA. 

Rev.  JAMES  SIMESTER,  Foochow^  China 


The  line  between  success  and  opportunity  cannot 
be  distinctly  drawn.  Opportunities  improved,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  become  successes,  and  every  suc- 
cess opens  a wider  door  of  opportunity. 

I.  Successes 

There  are  three  ways  of  measuring  the  success 
of  Christian  missions  in  China — by  the  numerical 
results  actually  achieved,  by  the  moral  and  spirit- 
ual transformations  which  are  the  direct  result  of 
Christian  effort,  and  by  the  forces  which  have  been 
set  at  work  as  the  result  of  Christian  missions  but 
which  are  themselves  not  connected  with  the 
Church. 

1.  There  are  125,000  iaptized  Protestant  Chris- 
tians in  China,  and  as  many  more  who  are  con- 
nected with  the  Church  as  probationers.  When 
we  consider  the  circumstances  under  which  these 
results  have  been  achieved  these  numbers  are  amaz- 
ing. China  has  been  one  of  the  most  difficult  fields 
ever  entered  by  the  Christian  Church.  In  no  other 
country  were  the  people  so  satisfied  with  them- 
selves, their  nation,  and  their  religion.  In  no  other 
field,  save  Africa  and  Malaysia,  has  the  climate 
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been  so  fatal  to  the  life  and  health  of  the  mission- 
ary as  in  South  China,  where  our  work  was  begun. 
No  other  country,  save  India,  feels  so  bitterly  the 
ostracism  consequent  upon  the  acceptance  of  the 
Christian  religion.  In  no  other  mission  field  have 
the  workers  been  so  frequently  compelled  to  flee 
for  their  lives.  All  the  obstacles  found  in  any 
land  have  been  found  in  China,  while  here  also  are 
found  difficulties  not  found  in  any  other  land  to 
any  great  extent. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  apparent  readi- 
ness of  the  Japanese  to  receive  Christian  truth,  as 
compared  with  the  Chinese.  But  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  when  Japan  was  opened  to  inter- 
course with  the  outside  world  it  was  done  by  a 
nation  who  helped  the  Japanese  carry  out  their 
own  laws  and  develop  in  their  own  way.  When 
China  was  opened  up  it  was  by  nations  who  com- 
pelled her,  against  her  own  will,  to  admit  the  curse 
which  is  now  dragging  millions  of  her  people  to 
ruin.  She  was  compelled  to  obey  laws  other  than 
her  own  and  to  develop  as  her  oppressors  saw  fit. 
America  went  to  the  Japanese  as  the  Good  Shep- 
herd that  they  might  have  life  and  that  they  might 
have  it  more  abundantly.  England  and  the  Powers 
went  to  China  as  a thief  to  steal  and  to  kill  and 
to  destroy.  And  how  were  the  Chinese  to  know 
that  the  missionaries  were  not  wolves  in  sheep’s 
clothing?  Treated  as  she  has  been  by  the  foreigner, 
the  wonder  is  that  any  have  been  found  in  this 
land  willing  to  give  an  attentive  ear  to  any  message 
coming  from  so  hateful  a source.  In  the  face  of 
these  difficulties  the  fact  that  250,000  are  connected 
with  the  Christian  Church  is  marvelous. 

But  the  numbers  added  to  the  Christian  Church 
are  not  the  greatest  evidence  of  success.  Better 
things  have  been  done,  and  forces  have  been  set  at 
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work  which  increase  the  efficiency  of  Christianity 
in  geometrical  progression.  Colleges  dot  the  land, 
and  in  these  are  found  thousands  of  young  men. 
Intermediate  schools  for  boys  and  girls  are  many 
and  are  crowded,  and  day  schools  can  be  counted 
by  the  thousand.  There  are  nearly  a thousand  day 
schools  in  the  Fuhkien  province  alone.  Hospitals 
are  daily  ministering  to  thousands  of  sick  bodies 
while  pointing  sin-sick  souls  to  the  Great  Physi- 
cian. Printing  presses  and  Bible  societies  are 
printing  annually  millions  of  pages  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  of  other  Christian  literature. 

2.  But  a question  of  vital  Importance  is  asked: 
Does  Christ  actually  save  and  transform  the  Chi- 
nese? Not,  “How  many  are  saved?”  but,  “How 
well  are  they  saved?”  China  has  furnished  to  the 
world  the  greatest  evidence  of  Christianity  seen 
since  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  Ten  thousand  na- 
tive Christians  dying  for  their  faith  bear  evidence 
how  well  they  are  saved. 

Jesus  Christ  is  transforming  men  in  China  as 
effectually  as  he  ever  did  in  America.  Highway 
robbers  have  become  preachers;  men  deprived  of 
mental  and  physical  strength  by  the  use  of  opium 
have  been  made  strong;  men  guilty  of  every  con- 
ceivable sin  have  been  gloriously  saved ; homes  have 
been  transformed  so  that  I have  seen  family  life 
in  China  that  was  as  pure  and  full  of  love  as  in  a 
Christian  home  in  America;  woman  has  not  only 
been  raised  from  a life  of  slavery  to  liberty,  but  the 
estimation  in  which  she  is  held  has  been  notably 
raised.  Every  phase  of  social  and  business  life  has 
been  changed  by  Him  who  makes  all  things  new 
so  that  it  is  possible  to  pick  out  the  Christian  Chi- 
nese by  the  looks  of  their  faces. 

3.  Forces  have  heen  set  at  work  hy  Christianity 
which  are  not  directly  connected  with  the  Chris- 

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tian  Church.  Infanticide,  once  so  common  in 
China,  is  now  practically  nonexistent.  A large  so- 
ciety has  been  organized  the  object  of  which  is  to 
stop  the  barbarous  practice  of  foot-binding.  Ten 
thousand  heathen  Chinese  gentlemen  have  pledged 
themselves  never  to  have  their  daughters’  feet 
bound,  or  marry  their  sons  to  girls  with  bound  feet. 
Schools  are  being  established  of  every  grade  from 
the  primary  grade  to  the  university.  A desire  for 
railroads,  telegraphs,  post  offices,  etc.,  all  of  which 
are  helps  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  as  well  as 
the  results  of  Christianity,  is  manifest  all  over  the 
land. 

II.  Opportunities 

1.  For  Evangelistic  Worh.  China  has  406,000,- 
000  of  people  that,  in  spite  of  differences  of  dialect 
and  customs,  are  practically  homogeneous.  China 
has  been  held  together  during  the  centuries  not  by 
despotism  or  by  force  of  arms,  but  by  the  essential 
oneness  of  the  people.  And  this  immense  popula- 
tion is  now  open  to  evangelization.  Ten  years  ago 
there  were  nine  hundred  walled  cities  of  China  and 
five  whole  provinces  that  were  closed  to  the  mis- 
sionary. Now  every  province  has  been  opened,  and 
the  gates  of  every  city  swing  wide  open  to  the  mes- 
sengers of  Christ. 

In  a city  less  than  two  hundred  miles  from  Foo- 
chow, whence  three  times  in  the  last  ten  years  mis- 
sionaries have  had  to  flee  for  their  lives,  and  twice 
have  hidden  under  the  tiles  of  the  roof,  I have  my- 
self within  the  past  six  months  [1903]  been  wel- 
comed by  citizen  and  official  alike.  In  the  very 
center  of  this  city  are  three  beautiful  hills  which 
command  a view  not  only  of  the  whole  city  but  of 
the  entire  surrounding  country.  On  one  of  these 
hills  is  the  newly  built  residence  of  our  Methodist 
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missionarjs  and  by  its  side  the  Tenping  Academy 
is  in  process  of  erection.  On  the  second  hill  the 
Alden  Speare  Memorial  Hospital  is  soon  to  be  built, 
and  we  hope  the  Girls  and  Women’s  School  will 
occupy  the  third.  Just  in  front  of  all  three  a large 
church  is  building,  the  money  from  which  was 
largely  raised  among  the  Chinese  themselves. 
Everywhere  doors  are  opened  for  the  messengers 
of  the  Gospel  of  Peace. 

2.  For  Educational  Worh.  The  greatest  need  of 
China  to-day  is  education,  and  the  Chinese  people 
are  looking  to  the  Christian  Church  for  help  in  this 
respect.  The  efforts  of  the  Chinese  government  to 
establish  Confucian  schools  is  an  evidence  on  the 
one  hand  of  the  widespread  desire  for  education, 
and  on  the  other  a tacit  acknowledgment  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Christian  schools.  Open  opposition 
to  Christianity  died  with  the  Boxer  movement,  but  a 
silent,  subtle  death-struggle  has  been  begun  in  the 
schools.  The  government  wants  Confucian  schools ; 
the  people  want  Christian  schools.  In  the  city  of 
Foochow  are  three  government  schools,  well  sup- 
ported and  fairly  well  equipped.  Students  are  sup- 
ported while  in  school,  and  are  assured  of  good  po- 
sitions when  they  finish.  In  the  Anglo-Chinese 
College,  just  outside  the  city,  students  have  to  pay 
all  their  expenses.  In  three  Confucian  schools, 
where  students  are  paid  to  attend  and  positions  are 
afterward  provided  for  them,  there  were  less  than 
150  students  enrolled  last  term.  In  the  one  Christian 
school,  where  students  have  to  pay  to  come  and  no 
positions  are  assured,  there  were  enrolled  336. 
Many  of  these  boys  are  heathen  when  they  come. 
Said  a heathen  gentleman  to  me  not  long  ago,  “Mr. 
Simester,  do  you  know  why  I send  my  boys  to  your 
school?”  “No,”  replied  I,  “but  I suppose  you  send 
them  to  get  an  education.”  “No,  I don’t,”  said  he; 

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“I  send  them  for  the  moral  training  they  get.” 
Think  of  it ! Heathen  gentlemen  sending  their  boys 
to  Christian  schools  for  the  moral  training  the  boys 
get.  Our  intermediate  schools  are  full  all  the  time, 
and  there  is  opportunity  for  twice  as  many  of  these 
schools  with  increased  facilities.  From  thousands 
of  cities  and  villages  come  calls  for  day  schools, 
and  the  only  limit  to  the  number  of  these  schools 
we  might  open  is  the  number  of  trained  native 
teachers  who  are  available.  If  the  Church  would 
improve  the  opportunity,  she  might  have  the  edu- 
cating of  the  larger  part  of  China’s  young  people. 
As  go  the  schools  of  this  generation,  so  goes  the 
business,  social,  and  national  life  of  the  next. 

3.  For  Hospitals  and  Charitalle  Work.  Innu- 
merable diseases,  beyond  the  skill  of  Chinese  physi- 
cians, are  met  on  every  hand.  Our  hospitals  are 
all  full,  and  our  physicians  overworked.  Christ 
went  everywhere  healing  them  that  were  sick. 
More  hospitals  and  more  physicians  could  be  util- 
ized at  once.  There  are  thousands  of  homeless  chil- 
dren that  might  be  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord  if  we  had  orphanages  and 
helpers  enough  to  care  for  them.  The  blind  are 
asking  to  be  taught  to  read  and  to  work ; widows 
by  the  hundred  are  asking  for  help ; whole  colonies 
of  lepers  need  to  be  cared  for.  For  all  these  needs 
China  appeals  to  the  Christian  Church. 

4.  For  Publishing  Houses.  Not  only  has  the 
press  been  an  important  factor  in  the  results  al- 
ready achieved,  but  its  place  in  the  work  cannot 
fail  to  be  more  and  more  important.  Christian 
books  and  literature  are  in  great  demand.  A 
heathen  viceroy  recently  ordered  thousands  of  dol- 
lars’ worth  of  Christian  books  from  Shanghai.  The 
Christian  presses  have  contracts  for  work  for  years 
ahead. 


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5.  For  Work  among  Women.  One  of  the  great- 
est opportunities  lies  in  the  work  for  women  and 
girls.  Husbands  who  do  not  care  to  talk  about 
Christianity  themselves  are  perfectly  willing  to 
have  missionary  women  talk  to  their  wives. 
Fathers  who  send  their  sons  to  a Confucian  school 
send  their  daughters  to  a Christian  seminary.  The 
average  Chinaman  thinks  it  makes  little  difference 
what  a woman  believes,  but  we  know  that  the  most 
effective  individual  factor  in  Christianity  is  the 
Christian  woman. 

Let  the  Church  not  stand  on  what  it  has  done, 
but  go  forward,  entering  every  one  of  these  open 
doors,  and  that  with  a force  large  enough  and 
eflBcient  enough  to  bring  this  land  to  God. 

Numerically,  intellectually,  and  morally  this  peo- 
ple is  the  greatest  in  the  heathen  world.  They  tell 
us  that  China  has  been  asleep  for  four  thousand 
years  and  that  her  civilization  now  should  be  com- 
pared with  European  civilization  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  A nation  that  could  go  to  sleep  for  four 
thousand  years  and  wake  up  only  four  hundred 
years  behind  civilized  America  is  worth  saving. 

The  old  Chinese  junk  is  covered  with  barnacles, 
but  scrape  these  off,  cover  the  outside  with  a coat 
of  modern  civilization,  and  in  place  of  the  old 
square  sails  that  have  driven  the  ship  whitherso- 
ever the  wind  listed  put  the  dynamic  power  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  you  will  have  a ship 
that  can  take  its  place  by  the  side  of  any  the  world 
has  ever  seen, 

China  aroused  and  enlightened  and  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  would  sweep  through  the  coming 
centuries  with  an  impetus  and  glory  impossible  to 
conceive. 

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